James Lovell

He grew up fascinated by rockets, but his family couldn't afford to send him to the elite schools that taught rocketry. Jim Lovell went instead to the Naval Academy, becoming a fighter pilot before joining the space program. Lovell became a household name when an oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded on the way to the moon. But it was his never-say-die attitude that helped bring Lovell and his men back to Earth.